District renews its pact with drug dogs

TEMECULA -- Drug-sniffing dogs have taken a bite out of crime at
Temecula schools, helping reduce the amount of controlled
substances found on campus by 21 percent, district officials
say.

At their meeting Tuesday night, board members applauded the
program that uses four-legged detectives to sniff out contraband on
middle school and high school campuses and parking lots and
unanimously agreed to renew the yearlong contract for the 2001-02
school year with hopes of the same success.

"It's been a big help for the district," said Trustee Bob Brown.
"Having the program at our campuses appears to be a deterrent, and
it's worth keeping another year."

During searches at the district's four middle schools and two
high schools last year, the dogs sniffed out illicit drugs 10
times; gunpowder eight times; prescription or over-the-counter
medication 17 times; and alcohol once, according to a report by
Interquest Detection Canines of San Diego, the group that conducted
the searches. The district had a total of 34 full-day searches last
year.

The report also showed that dogs detected "residual odors" of
either drugs or alcohol on students' clothing or backpacks 21
times. Additionally, tobacco products were discovered 10 times; and
dogs pointed out weapons, mainly knives, on 12 occasions. No
firearms were discovered during searches.

Because the program was implemented last year, a similar
breakdown was unavailable for the 1999-2000 school year. But
officials say expulsions involving controlled substances have
dwindled since the dogs have been used, indicating that students
are thinking twice about breaking the rules.

Last year, the number of expulsions involving illegal substances
dropped to 45 percent, down from 66 percent in the 1999-2000 school
year, said Michael Runyen, the district's director of child welfare
and attendance.

"I think we need two or three more years to establish a trend
with these dogs," Runyen said Tuesday before the meeting. "But from
what I've seen so far, my hunch is these dogs are keeping the stuff
out of schools. It's a good possibility that kids are not bringing
illegal substances to school because they know the dogs may be
there that day."

Interquest Detection Canines of San Diego will conduct the same
types of searches this year using non-aggressive dogs, such as
Labrador retrievers. The dogs will sniff the air around lockers,
backpacks, desks, vehicles and other objects. They are not allowed
to sniff students.

Christine Hazelton, a representative of Interquest, said the
dogs would be unobtrusive and would participate in roughly 35
surprise visits to campuses this school year. Students won't know
what days the dogs will show up, she said.

During the searches, random classes will be chosen in which
students leave the classroom while the dog sniffs around. The
searches last a few minutes, she said.

Trustee Ed Elder said he was encouraged by the numbers that show
the dogs are doing their job.

"These are great statistics for our first-year," Elder said.
"These results prove that the program is helping."

In 1999 and 2000, the district used dogs from the county
Sheriff's Department to check for drugs on a limited basis. The
sheriff's program was put on hold last year after the dog's handler
went on medical leave. The yearly cost to the district for the
drug-sniffing dogs through the private company is $11,900.